Arkansas Blue egg layers

[1muttsfan]

They are cute!

Look for wattles and the boys usually crow at about 6 weeks(sometimes earlier....). The blue one might be a boy.

Ron if this is true I may have all pullets

, so far today is the first day for crowing (a big Delaware cockerel) and they are all at least 7 weeks old

Mine are growing well, several spash and a few blue that look like your bird, Metalla.

One funny thing -

I incubated all the blue eggs layed by my layer flock,covered by my splash AB roo, over a 10 day period, which all would have been from my CL's and one Recessive White AB. And I got white, splash - and black chicks, much to my surprise. The white are not a surprise as I believe my rooster may carry recessive white, as well as possibly some of my CL hens, but black? Could the one recessive white hen I have be genotype black? Or is the black from the CL's? I am sure that some of the sex link black and blue chicks are from my CL's, but one pullet is not a copper black but solid black. (BTW they were very sexable at hatch other than the recessive whites).

 

[ronott1]

Ron if this is true I may have all pullets

, so far today is the first day for crowing (a big Delaware cockerel) and they are all at least 7 weeks old

Mine are growing well, several spash and a few blue that look like your bird, Metalla.

One funny thing -

I incubated all the blue eggs layed by my layer flock,covered by my splash AB roo, over a 10 day period, which all would have been from my CL's and one Recessive White AB. And I got white, splash - and black chicks, much to my surprise. The white are not a surprise as I believe my rooster may carry recessive white, as well as possibly some of my CL hens, but black? Could the one recessive white hen I have be genotype black? Or is the black from the CL's? I am sure that some of the sex link black and blue chicks are from my CL's, but one pullet is not a copper black but solid black. (BTW they were very sexable at hatch other than the recessive whites).

Yes, you had black in the white hen.

Hmmm, I think we need pictures!

 

[Metella]

Yes - we certainly need pictures !!!

My older AB Roo hurt his leg - he is in dog crate hospital and hates it ! Always a bit wildish ....he is not happy there. Hope it is just a sprain and he is back to the flock in a week or so. Right now he is giving me the stink eye when I open the door with food or water.

 

[Manningjw]

There are many genes for combs and they are not straight recessive and dominant.

This is some of them--there are others:

Great chart and a great point. While Pea comb is dominant over straight comb, the genetics coming from the Leghorn side will effect the morphology of the pea comb that is expressed. I might not completely understand the terminology for this but I think it is called a 'modified pea comb' in that instance?

If I remember right, walnut combs are created by both pea comb and rose comb?

 

[Manningjw]

They are cute!

Look for wattles and the boys usually crow at about 6 weeks(sometimes earlier....). The blue one might be a boy.

Wow I didn't know they would crow THAT early! Mine was hatched on May 7th I believe? 1-2 days after my other eggs (which was nerve racking btw...) My blue boy so far hasn't had a true crow, I have heard some odd sounds but nothing like a crow yet and I am glad for that. I hope they really are as quiet (bantam sounding) as people have said the breed is, I think my girlfriend will murder me (after the rooster) if he is as loud as my last cockerel was.

I have lots of my own project black and barred blue egg laying hens that I plan to cover with my AB cockerel, looking forward to my next hatch! My barred hens should produce sex linked chicks although with half being blue it might be slightly harder to sex them on day 1.

 

[Justso]

Ron if this is true I may have all pullets

, so far today is the first day for crowing (a big Delaware cockerel) and they are all at least 7 weeks old

Mine are growing well, several spash and a few blue that look like your bird, Metalla.

One funny thing -

I incubated all the blue eggs layed by my layer flock,covered by my splash AB roo, over a 10 day period, which all would have been from my CL's and one Recessive White AB. And I got white, splash - and black chicks, much to my surprise. The white are not a surprise as I believe my rooster may carry recessive white, as well as possibly some of my CL hens, but black? Could the one recessive white hen I have be genotype black? Or is the black from the CL's? I am sure that some of the sex link black and blue chicks are from my CL's, but one pullet is not a copper black but solid black. (BTW they were very sexable at hatch other than the recessive whites).

Recessive suppressing gene? From http://kippenjungle.nl/basisEN.htm :
"There are a lot of exceptions, eg epistasis: some genes overrule the effect of other genes. Consider having a gene B with recessive allele b causing brown color when b/b. Now there is also a gene C with recessive allele c suppressing color when c/c. An animal having c/c will not show brown (b/b), although it genetically is brown."

 

[1muttsfan]

Basically white masks all other colors, meaning that white birds can carry other color genes that are not expressed.

Recessive white is recessive to other colors if the bird contains only one gene, so is difficult to identify without crossing to another recessive white carrier. I think my rooster will be retired to flock boss for a pet group of birds, as I have at least 3 not directly related cockerels to raise for a replacement - hopefully not carrying recessive white. Too bad, he is really an outstanding rooster, good to his girls, a good flock shepherd, not aggressive, fertile, and best of all not very loud.

 

[Metella]

Some pictures of the teenagers ....

 

[1muttsfan]

They are lovely

 

[Metella]

Thanks ! any input on type or whatever is totally welcomed ... as I will have to decide on breeders and such coming up ....

I'll get more pic of course .... won't be breeding until spring .... Gettting ahead of myself in excitment of finally having enough AB's to call it a flock !